Barbie receives rapturous first reviews as Oppenheimer cast discuss the atomic bomb – movie news
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Hollywood feels more like the centre of the universe than ever this week as the release of the two biggest films of the year coincides with a historic actors’ strike.
Anticipation for Greta Gerwig’s Barbie and Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer has reached a fever pitch ahead of their release in unison on 21 July.
Axios has reported this week that movie theatres in Texas, Washington DC and Atlanta have already sold out tickets for the Margot Robbie-led feature about the famous toy doll.
Meanwhile, Oppenheimer star Matt Damon got personal about his decision to join the movie, which came after he promised his wife he’d take an acting break in couples’ therapy.
Oppenheimer’s London premiere was cut short, however, as the cast left early in preparation for the SAG-AFTRA strike order, which was initiated hours after the premiere.
The actors’ union joined the Writers Guild of America, which has been on strike since early May, over demands for increases in base pay and residuals in the streaming TV era, plus assurances that their work will not be replaced by AI.
Key points
Matt Damon told his wife he’d take a break from acting unless ‘Chris Nolan called’
Michael Cera says he became ‘paranoid and weird’ after Superbad fame
Christopher Nolan on why he thinks Quentin Tarantino is retiring from filmmaking
The story behind Barbenheimer, the summer’s most online movie showdown
10:00 , Peony Hirwani
The very online showdown between Greta Gerwig’s “Barbie” and Christopher Nolan’s “Oppenheimer” all started with a date: 21 July.
It’s not uncommon for studios to counterprogram films in different genres on a big weekend, but the stark differences between an intense, serious-minded picture about the man who oversaw the development of the atomic bomb and a lighthearted, candy-coloured anthropomorphising of a childhood doll quickly became the stuff of viral fodder.
Read more:
The story behind Barbenheimer, the summer’s most online movie showdown
Barbie review: A near-miraculous achievement from Greta Gerwig and Margot Robbie
09:30 , Peony Hirwani
“While it’s impossible for any studio film to be truly subversive, this Mattel-approved comedy gets away with far more than you’d think was possible,” writes The Independent’s Clarrise Loughrey.
Barbie is a near-miraculous achievement – review
Oppenheimer branded ‘most important film of this century’ by Taxi Driver’s Paul Schrader
09:00 , Peony Hirwani
Writer and filmmaker Paul Schrader has described Oppenheimer as the “best” and “most important film of this century”.
Read more:
Oppenheimer branded ‘most important film of this century’ by Paul Schrader
‘Barbie’ debuts strong on Rotten Tomatoes with 89% score
08:30 , Peony Hirwani
Greta Gerwig’s Barbie has scored an impressive 89 per cent on Rotten Tomatoes.
The film which debuted on the review-aggregation website on Wednesday (19 July) stars Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling as Barbie and Ken.
Read more:
Barbie’s impressive Rotten Tomatoes score revealed
How is the SAG-AFTRA strike affecting Barbie and Oppenheimer?
08:00 , Peony Hirwani
Following its strike announcement, SAG sent a memo to all of its members forbidding them from promoting any forthcoming projects.
This means that publicity events, including interviews, have ground to a halt for the two blockbusters.
“I very much am in support of all the unions and I’m a part of SAG, so I would absolutely stand by them,” Robbie said at Barbie’s London premiere.
Christopher Nolan offered a similar message of support when his cast walked out of the London premiere.
Fortunately, publicity for these films has been so omnipresent that the last few days is likely to have little effect on their box office performance. Worse affected will be films coming in August, which include DC Comics’ Blue Beetle (out 18 August) and Denzel Washington’s Equalizer 3 (1 September).
Read more about how the strikes will affect you here:
Why Hollywood writers and actors are going on strike
ICYMI: Barbie cast turn London Eye pink to celebrate film premiere
07:30 , Peony Hirwani
Barbie cast turn London Eye pink to celebrate film premiere
Greta Gerwig names two A-list cameos she failed to secure for ‘Barbie'
06:54 , Tom Murray
Barbie stars Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling as the main doll and her partner Ken.
Emma Mackey, Issa Rae, and Hari Nef are among the actors playing other Barbies, while Simu Liu, Ncuti Gatwa and Kingsley Ben-Adir are among the other Kens.
However, in a new interview, Gerwig revealed that two of her previous collaborators, Saoirse Ronan and Timothée Chalamet slipped through the net.
Read about what she had to say here:
Barbie director Greta Gerwig names two A-list cameos she failed to secure for film
Barbie movie merchandise: From Barbie dolls to a Zara collaboration
06:30 , Peony Hirwani
Whether you have always loved Barbie dolls or are obsessed with the colour pink, there is something for everyone who wants to be a Barbie girl or channel their ‘kenergy’ this season.
If you’re eager to add some Barbie pink to your wardrobe and home, we’ve got the best Barbiecore has to offer below, ready for you to peruse.
Barbie movie merchandise: From Barbie dolls to a Zara collaboration
What Cillian Murphy has said about the Barbie vs Oppenheimer rivalry
05:56 , Tom Murray
As Barbie and Oppenheimer are released on the same day, much has been made about a supposed rivalry between the two films.
However, cast members on both sides have done their best to quash any rumours of beef.
“I mean, I’ll be going to see Barbie, 100 per cent. I can’t wait to see it,” Oppenheimer star Cillian Murphy said in a recent interview.
“I think it’s just great for the industry and for audiences, that we have two amazing films by amazing filmmakers coming out on the same day. You can spend the whole day in the cinema – what’s better than that?”
Read more:
Cillian Murphy weighs in on Barbie vs Oppenheimer rivalry
TikTokers are showing off pink outfits they’re going to wear to watch Barbie movie
05:30 , Peony Hirwani
In preparation for the upcoming premiere on 21 July, eager TikTokers are manifesting the perfect, pink-themed party by crafting “Barbiecore” looks that they plan on wearing in theatres.
While some are opting to thrift or buy new clothes, others are pulling pieces they already own to reimagine themselves as “country Barbie,” “roller skating Barbie,” or “cottage Barbie.”
Read more:
TikTokers are showing off pink outfits they’re going to wear to watch Barbie movie
Cillian Murphy says it ‘took a toll’ playing scientist J Robert Oppenheimer
05:03 , Peony Hirwani
Cillian Murphy said it “took a toll” to play J Robert Oppenheimer in Christopher Nolan’s new film about the physicist who co-created the first atomic bomb.
The Irish actor, 47, added that the “moral dilemmas and paradoxes” his character grapples with throughout the film are “huge”.
“It does take a toll, but in a brilliant way, it was the biggest, most exhilarating challenge,” Murphy said, ahead of Oppenheimer’s release.
The film recounts the famous physicists’ fears that tests for the first atomic bomb could have destroyed the planet.
Cillian Murphy says it ‘took a toll’ playing scientist J Robert Oppenheimer
Comment: Most actors are broke – this strike should kill the ‘champagne socialist’ myth dead
04:55 , Tom Murray
Claire Allfree dives into the actors’ strike in this week’s edition of State of the Arts.
“Creative economies are complex beasts, particularly in the live entertainment sector,” she writes. “Even so, it’s increasingly the case that the stars of the show are rarely the ones reaping the rewards, while the foot soldiers are barely managing to survive.”
Read more:
Most actors are broke – this strike should kill the ‘champagne socialist’ myth dead
Christopher Nolan explains why he cast his daughter as girl who gets blown up in nuclear explosion
03:51 , Tom Murray
Speaking in a new interview with The Telegraph, Nolan revealed that when his daughter, Flora, 22, visited the set with his wife, the producer Emma Thomas, it struck him that he could cast her as a nameless young woman whose flesh is flayed from her face in a nuclear explosion, in a sequence that happens within Oppenheimer’s mind.
Flora is credited on IMDb as “Burn Victim” for her work on the film.
Read more:
Christopher Nolan on why he cast daughter in Oppenheimer as girl who gets blown up
Watch: Oppenheimer actors walk out of UK premiere as Hollywood stars join strike
02:59 , Tom Murray
How a former ‘Love Island’ star got a cameo role in ‘Barbie'
02:02 , Tom Murray
If you know Margot Robbie then you know how much of a fan the Australian actor is of Love Island.
The Barbie star is a self-obsessed fanatic of the ITV dating show – so much so that season five contestant Chris Taylor found his way into her movie.
Taylor confirmed in an interview at the Barbie premiere in London that he has a small, speaking part in the picture.
Read more here:
Love Island star landed role in Barbie movie thanks to superfan Margot Robbie
How long are ‘Barbie’ and ‘Oppenheimer'?
01:20 , Tom Murray
Christopher Nolan isn’t known for quick afternoon flicks and Oppenheimer is no different, clocking in with a runtime of three hours exactly.
Great Gerwig’s Barbie, meanwhile, is a more manageable hour and 54 minutes long.
Oppenheimer to feature ‘prolonged full nudity’ by Florence Pugh and Cillian Murphy
Tuesday 18 July 2023 23:19 , Tom Murray
Oppenheimer features a significant subplot involving the nuclear scientist’s relationship with psychiatrist and physician Jean Tatlock, played by Florence Pugh.
In a recent report, it was claimed that the film’s lead Cillian Murphy and Pugh have scenes of “prolonged full nudity” together, and that it makes Oppenheimer one of Nolan’s rare films to include a significant interest in sex and relationships.
Fans theorised that Nolan would venture into this territory in June, when it was revealed that Oppenheimer had received the filmmaker’s first “R” rating in the US since his 2002 film Insomnia.
Read more:
Oppenheimer to feature ‘prolonged nudity’ by Florence Pugh and Cillian Murphy
Watch: Margot Robbie says it took just one question to get John Cena in the Barbie movie
Tuesday 18 July 2023 22:11 , Tom Murray
How the Barbie soundtrack came together, according to Mark Ronson
Tuesday 18 July 2023 21:40 , Tom Murray
“You know the Chicago (Disco Demolition) thing, where everyone burned their disco records, Saturday Night Fever had reached its apex and the poor Bee Gees were like, ‘All we wanted to do was make people dance! What did we do wrong?’ That’s Barbie,” Ronson told The Associated Press.
“I’ve never really executive produced something before,” he said. “I love this film. We had an amazing partner in Atlantic Records.”
“And then doing the score, but it was a lot of learning on the job. It was still a job that I’ve never really done before. ... It’s fun to show people different scenes and getting them to dream big.”
Watch: Issa Rae says she can't wait to 'burn' pink Barbie clothes
Tuesday 18 July 2023 21:24 , Tom Murray
Cillian Murphy addresses Danny Boyle’s ‘28 Days Later' sequel update
Tuesday 18 July 2023 20:55 , Tom Murray
In June, 28 Days Later director Danny Boyle and writer Alex Garland revealed plans to make a follow-up to their hit 2000 horror film.
Oppenheimer star Murphy played the lead role of Jim in the horror film, released in 2000, which follows survivors of an incurable virus that ravages the world.
In an interview with The Independent this week, Murphy said he’d “be there in a flash” if the opportunity to reprise his role arose.
Read more:
Cillian Murphy addresses Danny Boyle’s 28 Days Later sequel update
Mayor in Norway admits he secretly kept Tom Cruise’s stunt bikes
Tuesday 18 July 2023 20:20 , Tom Murray
Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One was also released in cinemas this month.
This week, a mayor in Norway, who was supposed to destroy motorbikes used in the latest Tom Cruise movie admitted he kept them as mementoes.
The stunt was filmed on the Helsetkopen mountain in Stranda in September 2020, and involved Cruise driving a motorbike off the side of a cliff before pulling a parachute.
“A mayor in Stranda can’t always be the one who follows rules and regulations,” came his mischeivous explanation in an interview.
Read more:
Mayor in Norway admits he secretly kept Tom Cruise’s Mission: Impossible stunt bikes
How is the SAG-AFTRA strike affecting Barbie and Oppenheimer?
Tuesday 18 July 2023 19:54 , Tom Murray
Following its strike announcement, SAG sent a memo to all of its members forbidding them from promoting any forthcoming projects.
This means that publicity events, including interviews, have ground to a halt for the two blockbusters.
“I very much am in support of all the unions and I’m a part of SAG, so I would absolutely stand by them,” Robbie said at Barbie’s London premiere.
Christopher Nolan offered a similar message of support when his cast walked out of the London premiere.
Fortunately, publicity for these films has been so omnipresent that the last few days is likely to have little effect on their box office performance. Worse affected will be films coming in August, which include DC Comics’ Blue Beetle (out 18 August) and Denzel Washington’s Equalizer 3 (1 September).
Read more about how the strikes will affect you here:
Why Hollywood writers and actors are going on strike
Video: Cillian Murphy says it ‘took a toll’ playing scientist J Robert Oppenheimer
Tuesday 18 July 2023 19:10 , Tom Murray
Matt Damon told his wife he’d take a break from acting unless ‘Chris Nolan called’
Tuesday 18 July 2023 18:59 , Tom Murray
Matt Damon’s wife can’t catch a break.
During a roundtable interview with his Oppenheimer costars, Damon revealed he’d promised his wife, Luciana Barroso, that’d he take a break from acting while the pair were in couple’s therapy.
There was one exception to the rule, though: if Christopher Nolan called, Damon could take the gig.
The rest, as they say, is history.
Read more:
The Independent calls ‘Barbie’ ‘a near-miraculous achievement’
Wednesday 19 July 2023 00:10 , Tom Murray
The Independent’s Barbie review has just gone live and boy is our critic Clarisse Loughrey a fan.
In her five-star review, Loughrey calls Gerwig’s picture “one of the most inventive, immaculately crafted and surprising mainstream films in recent memory – a testament to what can be achieved within even the deepest bowels of capitalism”.
“Barbie is joyous from minute to minute to minute. But it’s where the film ends up that really cements the near-miraculousness of Gerwig’s achievement,” Loughrey teases.
Read the full review here:
